Midnight Turnabout
Midnight Turnabout'' was the twenty-first plot arc in the roleplay thread, by thespacephantom. It is based on the Ace Attorney universe and, as per the norm for the games, concerns a court case where not everything is as clear-cut as it originally seems. Characters '''Player Characters' * Jasper Fournier * Sarah Ericson * Yes Man * Sagi * Orson * Lydia * Peter Parker * Audrey * Griffin Jr. * Marno * Ezekiel Hughes * Kosuke * Shamus T. Goldcrow * Dr. Robotnik * Park Sung-chul * Athena * Allen * Hoshi * Liman * Bombette * Natsuki NPC's * Miles Edgeworth * Damon Gant * Phoenix Wright * Detective Gumshoe * Mike Meekins Intro Tick. Tick. Tick. The clock rings out at the stroke of midnight. It is the only sound in this diner. The girl seated at the counter looks idly up, frowning. “...Shit… it’s already that time…?” She peers around. The waiter had disappeared minutes ago into the kitchen. If she was going to do it, it needed to be now. The girl looks down at her half-empty mug of coffee, and her last remaining scraps of midnight breakfast. A strange feeling wells up in the pit of her stomach. Why’s she so nervous? This isn’t anything she hasn’t done before… Brushing her worries aside, she gets up and exits through the back door, ducking down into the cold night and immediately turning left into the alley. Someone is there waiting for her. A grinning figure holding a pistol in his left hand. “Not so fast, Ms. Karloman…” says the gunman. “Oh, don’t look so surprised. This is what happens when you dance with the devil.” A sharp crack erupts from the muzzle of the gun. Then, there is only silence. Miles Edgeworth sipped his tea, thinking carefully over his latest case. To put it bluntly, this one didn’t make any sense at all. The latest in a spree of murders... and the killer had the foresight to steal the body away from the scene of the crime… Edgeworth’s train of thought was interrupted by his door slamming open. He looked up, startled out of his reverie. “Detective Gumshoe,” he began, putting a hand to his forehead, “This is not the first time I’ve asked you to knock before you come running into my office—” He finally looked up. It wasn’t Gumshoe that had come into his office.There was a very, very very long pause. Finally, Damon Gant broke the silence “Sorry to bother you, Worthy!” he said, smiling jovially. “But we need to talk about this case you’re looking into.” Edgeworth said nothing, which Gant took as his cue to continue. “You see… It’s really weird, how the police department ended up in this weird town. With weird people!” Gant made a show of looking out the window conspiratorially. “So,” he continued, “I think that it’ll be very useful for the prosecution if you take on some… local help.” “...You can’t be serious,” said Edgeworth, folding his arms. “It’s utterly preposterous to think that your average pedestrian in this town has even a basic understanding of prosecution law.” “Oh, but I am,” said Gant, his arms folded behind his back. “Very serious.” He walked back to the door, not facing Edgeworth. “And, well… this isn’t negotiable!” He smiled. “Find yourself some help, or… I’ll see about getting a more capable prosecutor for this case.” Without another word, he exited Edgeworth’s office, leaving the door open behind him. “...” Miles Edgeworth allowed himself a small, frustrated sigh. No, nothing about this case made sense at all. Plot Midnight Turnabout started with the arrival of a police car at the Room, who's driver demanded the attention and presence of those living there. Traveling a short distance, they arrived at the courthouse, which appeared to have fallen out of the very sky for some odd reason. They were met by Damon Gant, who divided the group into the Prosecution and the Defense. Jasper, Sarah, Yes Man, Sagi, Orson, Lydia, Peter Parker, Audrey, Griffin Jr., and Marno were placed on the Prosecution, while Zeke, Kosuke, Shamus T. Goodcrow, Dr. Robotnik, Park, Athena, Spider-Man, Allen, Hoshi, and Liman were charged with the Defense. The court record was given at this point as well, and the various members of both teams reacted in their own ways. Notably, Peter was uncomfortable at the assignments, but said nothing as the two teams made their ways to the Prosecution's office and Wright & Co. Law Offices respectively, in preparation for the trial. Meeting Miles Edgeworth, the Prosecution assembled in a conference room, where Edgeworth briefed them on the situation: Charlie Karloman, the victim, was killed, and the apparent perpetrator found at the scene of the crime with a blood-soaked knife in hand. Jasper noted that the autopsy report mentioned the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the head, and Edgeworth confirmed for her that a gun had not been found, but the woman mentioned had to have been the perpetrator, and that she was guilty. Sarah picked up a file that mentioned that the defendant was completely unwilling to speak to anyone about the incident, but she did not say anything on the matter herself. After some deliberation on the matter, the Prosecution headed out to meet the single eyewitness mentioned in the report: Ryuunosuke Uryuu, who was at an unfortunately-named diner known as the Pancake Piledriver. They arrived on the scene to meet Detective Gumshoe, who initially mistook them for regular diner patrons before they could let him know they were, in fact, the Prosecution. Orson and Jasper noted the crime scene actual, an alleyway with chalk outline, leading to a dead end, only a dumpster occupying the space. The former used his powers to try and detect any sort of spiritual activity while Gumshoe worked to verify the identity of the group, which Orson presented in the form of the affidavit, after detecting no spiritual activity. The group were led in and Ryuunosuke introduced himself and gave his testimony. Meanwhile, outside, Jasper noted a bullet hole in the alley, presumably where the victim was standing, which appeared to have been fired from the sidewalk outside the alleyway. During the testimony of the witness, Peter texts Park, explaining that he was trying to keep his secret identity of Spider-Man under wraps during the entire trial. Jasper asked Gumshoe for the evidence recovered at the scene, and he gave it to her, mentioning that the knife was down at the station. Inside, with Ryuu, they asked for his opinion, and he mentioned that a serial killer was out of the question, as the method and execution was "too sloppy" The Defense made their way to the Law Offices, hearing the sounds of battle coming from inside. They approached cautiously, Zeke peeking in while Liman drew a shotgun out of thin air through the power of nanites, but the sounds turned out to be a woman in purple robes watching a toku show called "Steel Samurai". Hearing the Defense team, she reacted in shock, surprised by the company. Reassuring her that they were here to help, she expressed a confusion by their presence: she herself wasn't even aware that they had a case! realizing, however, that the case, and the group, was legitimate, she advised them to talk to the defendant. Hoshi joined the team at this point, having fallen asleep on the way there due to crashing after too many energy drinks, as he and his Charzard, Grayson, got caught up on the situation. However, the group realized that the woman they were speaking to was not the defending attorney. Phoenix Wright, the Defending attorney, was out at the moment, and they proceeded without him (much to Robotnik's chagrin, his idea to make a robot army to track Wright down was not approved. Regardless, the Defense group made their way to the Detention Center, while Eggman espoused a pretentious egotism as he asked if the group had telephones or radios, then refused to make them when informed they had the raw materials. They arrived at the center, and Robotnik took the lead, asking to speak to "his" client, only correcting himself when the other members spoke up. Directed towards their charge, they were met by a young woman who introduced herself as Esmeralda, who herself expressed no knowledge of having a team, but quickly deduced that they were court-appointed. The team asked her to explain why she had the knife, and she told them coolly, and forebodingly, "To say its name would draw away its power. I realize my vagueness is needlessly incriminating, but I really can't say anything besides 'I harmed no one.' ", and explained that the fact that there seemed to be some magic involved, plus a ritual, made her hesitant to explain anything to the police. Even as candid as she was, she refused to give any other information, maddeningly so. Trivia Category:Arcs